Ascension of Chaos

Ashley

The next two weeks pass by rather quickly as I spend the entire time either in Domains or competing in Official System Events. Just gradually leveling up even more. To the point that I manage to reach level 275 by the end of my little training period.

But the moment I reach that level I find a surprise waiting for me as I blink at the corpse of the goblin knight I just turned to ash.

Huh?

{NOTICE --- SUCCESSOR HAS ACHIEVED THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO UNLOCK A NEW SUCCESSOR SKILL --- NOTICE}

That's… unexpected.

I didn't think I'd get another one while still in Class D. But it's a good thing, so I obviously don't mind.

With that thought, I go ahead and open my list of Successor Skills to check out the latest addition.

{Unchained – As the Successor to Chaos, you may not be bound by anyone or anything. Not even Chaos himself.}

{Torrents of Chaos – Once a week you can draw Chaos Energy directly from nature itself, refilling your Chaos Energy reserves to full.}

{Chaotic Surge – Allows the user to send Chaos Energy through their body in a rampant surge, increasing their physical capabilities and granting random effects to all of their attacks. Both magical and physical.}

{Chaotic Source – All True Damage that would harm the user will be reflected at a random being the user views as an enemy. However, this skill only works against thirty instances of damage a day and must be recharged either by waiting until the next day or through using one unit of Chaos Energy to refill ten charges.}

{Chaos Infusion – Allows the user to infuse and compress Chaos Energy.}

{Chrono Lock – Allows the user to force a Chrono Lock on an object or individual. This will lock the object or individual firmly in time, sealing them away unless the user of the skill or the Primordial of Time himself frees them.}

{Chaos – Locked – Allows the user to spend Chaos Energy in order to create a random skill and add it to their Chaos Skill Tree.} – [Spend 100000 Skill Points to unlock this skill.]

My jaw drops open at the sight of the skill. To the point that I don't even pay attention to the remaining goblin knights attacking me from behind.

Goblin knights who aren't actually doing any damage to me at all thanks to my destruction immunity. What with them being too weak to do any.

Chaos?! What the hell is with this skill?!

"Oh, that? It's just my original skill," Chaos answers rather nonchalantly in my head. "The only skill I was born with."

That gives me pause. Then I open my mouth to say something, only to close it again.

You-

My thoughts are put on hold when a goblin knight tries to push me down to the ground, at which point I rip his head off. Literally.

I activate my Gaze of Destruction before turning to look at the level 200-something goblins and quickly begin erasing them from existence. And after I finish dealing with those pests, I turn my attention back to Chaos again.

You only had a single skill when you were born?

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"Yes, just like you," Chaos answers right away. "I'm rather surprised you've already reached the necessary requirements to unlock it though."

So none of the other skills you have were originally your skills? Or rather, you didn't originally have them when you were born? You made them with this skill?

"Correct," Chaos says as I slowly begin to walk through the Domain again and resume my slaughtering of the goblins in this goblin castle. "Every skill I have was made by that skill. Some of the skills are terrible garbage, others are incredibly powerful skills. And the likelihood of a skill you make using it being a stronger skill is determined by how much Chaos Energy you use to make the skill."

I understand why you became Chaos now. Having a skill like that.

Wait, the System didn't exist back then, so did you just think the skill gave you a new power or something every time you used it? Or did you intrinsically understand how to use the skill?

"Both," he answers with some amusement in his voice. "I knew that I got some sort of new power every time I used it, and that the amount of energy I used determined the likelihood of the power not being trash. That was pretty much it."

Alright, that makes sense.

"The skill costs a lot of energy to use, and it could end up just wasting all of that energy to give you a skill like one to clean dirt from under your fingernails," Chaos explains, making me frown at the example. "Or it could give you something like the many Successor Skills you've already obtained from me."

It sounds like you're just gambling the energy you currently have away for a chance at a good skill.

Is there a maximum number of skills you can create with the skill?

"There is not a maximum," Chaos answers with more than a little pride in his voice. "And your earlier thought is right. This was the main reason I was chosen as the Primordial of Chaos. Just like you."

I blink at that.

What do you mean by that?

"Every Primordial has a requirement that must be fulfilled for there to even be a chance of their Successor succeeding them in the future," Chaos states as I continue to slaughter more goblins. "The position of Primordial of Magic for example requires someone who has a perfect magical affinity for every single type of magic in the universe. And the position of Primordial of Sin requires someone who has a perfect affinity for every Sin along with the capacity to use every single one of the Symbols of Sin." To s.u-ppor!t- our wo%r!k,+ plea!se@ rea$d on M|V|LE_MPY-R..^

Huh. And I guess I already fit the requirement based on what you said earlier?

But what requirement…

I think back to the similarities between the two of us.

We both started with Unique Skill Trees with just a single chaos skill. With both of our single skills being skills that allow us to get more skills.

Just that mine lets me assimilate skills from others while his lets him just create new skills.

Is that the requirement?

"You're correct!" Chaos exclaims, sounding rather happy with my answer. "The Primordial of Chaos must not be limited in their powers. They have to be able to infinitely obtain new powers. To be the embodiment of Chaos now and forever."

I frown a little.

Was that why you chose me as your Successor? Because of Assimilate?

"Yes and no," Chaos answers, this time sounding less excited. "I realized right away that you would fit the requirements to become a Primordial in the future, but just because someone fits the requirements doesn't mean I'll just go around and choose someone for no reason."

I raise a brow at that while still frowning.

You… wouldn't?

"Okay, maybe I would," Chaos admits before continuing, "but still. I felt something when I saw you. I genuinely felt something for the first time. And I wanted to know what it was."

So you made me your Successor to wake me up and find out?

Chaos pauses for a second before answering in a slightly surprised voice, "Yes, actually."

Hmm.

Well, anyways, the skill is way too expensive for me to afford. For a very long time.

A hundred thousand Skill Points just to unlock? That's a massive jump from the previous Successor Skills.

"The Successor Skills unlock based on their own requirements, not in any particular order," Chaos says in a much milder tone and volume than before. "Are you okay?"

I blink in surprise at that question. A question I'm genuinely not used to being asked.

In fact, I'm so not used to it that I just stop moving and stare blankly ahead as I'm peppered with arrows from more goblins who are on either side of the moat I'm currently crossing a bridge over.

The arrows don't do anything though, seeing as this is a weaker Domain. Plus they're just weak enemies regardless.

"Ashy?" Chaos asks, using some sort of new nickname that makes me wonder if he's just trying out nicknames at this point.

I continue moving while shaking my head.

Yeah, I'm fine.

More importantly, I need to deal with finishing up this Domain before getting changed into that dress.

Oh, and was there some important reason you had to get the Tower Master to buy me over a hundred dresses?

"What do you mean?" Chaos asks, sounding suspiciously like he's dodging the question. And when he hears that thought in my head he adds, "Why wouldn't I want to show off my beautiful daughter to the universe?"

You say that, but something tells me you'd rip the eyes out of someone if they looked at me the wrong way.

Chaos doesn't respond to that, pretty much confirming my suspicion.

I let out a sigh before finishing making my way across the bridge.

But despite myself, I can't help the slight upwards curving of the corner of my lips as I do so.